The Oncoming Storm
by Luxanna D
Summary: AU. Elsanna. (Not incest). A saleswoman shows up to Elsa's house and Elsa desperately tries to get rid of her, but storm warning sirens start to go off. Not wanting the woman to go out in the storm, Elsa invites her in to come down to her basement with her. She has a feeling that this is going to be a long storm.
1. Prologue

Elsa hears a knock at the front door and she sighs, looking up from her work. "Why me?" she whispers, standing up from her desk. _I just wanted to spend this day off in peace._

She has a big case to fight in a few days, and she wants to make sure that she is ready for everything. Losing isn't necessarily something she is fond of, as evident by her ninety-five percent win rate.

She slowly stands from her large wooden desk and walks out of her office toward the stairs. When she reaches them she lets her hand drag along the banister as she descends.

"This better be important," she says to herself, "I don't have time for this."

When she reaches the front door she pauses, hoping that maybe the person just left and she doesn't have to worry about communicating with whoever decided to disturb her on a Saturday. But the knock comes again.

Elsa opens the door. Standing in front of her is a strawberry blonde with freckles and teal eyes. She has her hair up in a bun and she's wearing what Elsa would at best describe as business casual.

On a day where she wasn't this frustrated, Elsa might actually find her attractive… but today she needs to focus on work. "Not interested," Elsa states, stalely, prepared to shut the door on the shorter woman.

"Sorry, to bother you Ms. Uhhh," she looks down at the wrinkled paper in her hand. "Ms. Frost! Sorry, to disturb you, but I was wondering if you're interested-"

"Not interested," Elsa states again, closing the door. She turns around to walk back to her office, but there is another knock at the door. She then turns back around and reopens it.

"Hey," the freckled woman waves, awkwardly. "It's me again. Look, uhm I'm new to this… so, maybe you can just give me a chance. I really need the money… and you look like you'd be perf-"

"What are you trying to sell?" Elsa interrupts.

The shorter woman's face lights up as she turns toward a rolling suitcase standing behind her. "I have a premium line of make-up that I am interested in…" She struggles to pull the suitcase toward her, laughing shyly in between. "I'm Anna, by the way," she states, turning to Elsa with a blush.

Elsa takes in a deep breath. Part of her wants to shut the door, but the other part wants to continue to watch the adorable scene unfolding in front of her. "Hello, Anna. You already knew my name, so guess I don't need to introduce myself. How'd you get into this line of work?"

"Oh," Anna breathes, kneeling down to open the suitcase. "I saw this thing about getting money easily, you know? I just front this stuff in the beginning and then I make whatever profit I get."

"Sounds like a scam," Elsa laughs. "How are sales?"

Anna clears her throat and shrugs. "Not so great," she whispers. "I was hoping it would change with you." She looks up to Elsa and smiles.

"Is this a part of your scheme? This whole clumsy, frazzled, I-don't-have-a-lot-of-sales routine?"

"No," Anna chirps, still smiling, "I always hope the next person I talk to will be my first sale." She pops the suitcase open, falling back from the force she put into it. "Got it. Now… maybe you'd do good with some purple, or-"

Elsa holds up a hand, stopping Anna. "Look, I'm sorry you went through all of this trouble and I wish you luck, but I'm really not interested in buying any of this."

"Just one thing," Anna pleads. "Please. It can even be the cheapest thing. I don't mind."

A tornado siren starts to go off in the distance and Elsa pauses, taking a step out on to the porch to glance at the sky. There are swirling dark clouds overhead and she sighs. _Great, a tornado._

She steps back into her house and fixes Anna with a smile. "You should probably get going, this weather doesn't look that great."

The color leaves the freckled woman's face and she slowly glances down at her watch. "Crap. Crap, crap, crap. I lost track of time. I was supposed to be out of here before the storm."

She closes her suitcase quickly, attempting to stand it back up as she continues to become more flustered. "My house is like an hour away, I'll be caught right in the middle," she mumbles to herself. She looks up to Elsa, harriedly. "Thanks for your time, Ms. Frost."

Anna grips the handle of the suitcase but Elsa steps forward before she even gets the chance to consider what she's doing. "You should come inside," she blurts. _Shit, what are you doing, Elsa?_

Anna shakes her head, seemingly on the brink of tears. "No it's okay, Ms. Frost. I don't want to be a bother. I should just get going."

"No," Elsa states, against the wishes of her protesting brain. "You should come in. I'd hate for you to get hurt out there."

"Really?" Anna smiles, her face lighting up. "I don't know how to thank you."

"Don't mention it." Elsa steps aside gesturing for the younger girl to come in. She shuts the door behind her just as they are graced by the first clash of thunder.

Anna drags her suitcase half way across the living room before letting it drop to the floor. "Oh my God, Elsa." She pauses. "Can I call you Elsa? Your house is great. Like fantastic. Where'd you get this chandelier?"

Elsa sighs as she closes her eyes and runs a hand through her hair. _This is going to be the longest storm of my life._


	2. The First Hour

"You have a nice basement."

Anna paces around the vast -completely finished and fully furnished and decorated- space, impressed by each new feature she discovers. Elsa can't help but secretly smile to herself as she desperately tries to lose herself in her work once again.

"Thank you," she states, finally, hoping she can regain control of her concentration if she addresses the stranger in her house at least once.

Anna continues talking, her pursuit of keep this conversation going is relentless. "So, what are you working on?" she asks, her voice laced with genuine interest.

"A case," Elsa says, quickly, hoping the strawberry-blonde gets the hint that she isn't quite in the mood for talking.

Of course, that isn't _entirely _true. Elsa sort of wants to engage in a conversation with the woman but at some point in her life she managed to replace every ounce of small-talking skills with court room terms and legal jargon.

Even though Elsa all but dismissed her, Anna's eyes still light up at the short response. "Like a lawyer case?" she chirps.

"Yes," Elsa blurts, her voice clipped. She was attempting to sound less interested in the conversation than she did before -if that was even possible- but she realizes it might have just come out as rude.

Elsa lifts her head to apologize, but Anna doesn't miss a beat, asking her next question. "What's it about?"

"Can't tell you that," Elsa smiles, amused by Anna's curiosity.

The strawberry-blonde pokes out her lip -adorably, Elsa notes- before placing her hands on her hips. "Sure you can. I won't tell anyone." She holds up two fingers. "Scout's honor."

"I'm sure you won't," Elsa smiles, looking back down at her work. "And scout's honor is three fingers."

"Okay…," Anna groans. "I'm just trying to lighten up the mood. I mean we don't know how much time we'll have to spend down here, and I thought talking would help pass the time."

Anna silently sits down on the basement sofa and starts fiddling with her hands. Elsa looks up from her work, feeling guilty about the exchange that just happened between them.

She takes in a deep breath and runs a hand through her hair. "I'll tell you what," she starts, causing Anna to look up. "You get three chances to try and sell me that makeup. Only three. Think long and hard about it. It has to be convincing."

Anna's face lights up again and she jumps from the sofa and runs over to the table where Elsa is sitting. "Okay, well it's really nice makeup, like I've used it and I think it's great. It can make you beauti-_fuller_," she lets out a small giggle, before her eyes widen. "W-well not fuller," she stutters, "-but more beauti-"

"First attempt failed," Elsa states, matter-of-factly, looking back down at her work.

"Wait, no. That doesn't count," Anna blurts, holding out a hand.

"Why not?" Elsa asks, fighting the urge to laugh. _Anna is just too damn adorable_.

"Just give me a second chance," Anna pleads.

Elsa looks up, but looks down immediately, realizing her mistake. She can't manage to stare into Anna's big teal eyes, and stay strong at the same time. "You do get a second chance," she says, "-and a third one."

"I meant a second first chance," Anna pleads, again, her voice almost a whine.

Elsa looks up with a smirk, finding this situation impossibly cute. "Well you can call your second chance your 'second first chance' and your third chance your 'third first chance'... If that makes you feel better."

Anna's eyes harden and she places her hands on her hips again. "How do I know you'll stick to your word? Lawyers are tricky people," she states, sassily looking away from Elsa. "You probably worded it in a way that you don't have to actually buy anything."

"There are no loop holes here," Elsa laughs. "If you can sell that makeup to me, then I will honestly buy it."

"Okay."

Anna turns and starts to slowly walk away. Elsa looks back down at her work and sighs. "So," Anna starts, causing Elsa to look back up. "Where did you go to college?"

Elsa looks back down, bringing up a hand to massage her temples. She grabs a pencil off the table, hoping that marking the sheet will help direct her attention. "I went to Harvard for Law school, Yale for undergrad."

"Oh," Anna breathes. "I went to community college. Got an Associates Degree in business."

"Any college is good," Elsa says, looking up to Anna with a reassuring smile. "Why business?"

"I took one of those career aptitude tests, and apparently I have a knack for selling things. Isn't it obvious?" Anna laughs, sardonically.

Elsa opens her mouth to speak, but closes it, feeling bad about the way she's been acting. The truth of the matter is that she intended on buying something from Anna, whether the strawberry-blonde succeeded in selling it to her or not.

"I'm sure you're great at selling things," Elsa finally says, "-you probably just need to get into the groove of things. Consider our little exercise a test. You're getting some practice."

"Does that mean I get more chances?" Anna smiles.

"No," Elsa says, flatly, "-you have two left. Use them wisely. What good would unlimited chances do you? I want to push you. Think outside of the box."

Anna nods and walks away, halting the conversation. Elsa looks down at her work, glad that she finally has some time to get back to her tasks.

She finds that her attention is equally as torn even when the conversation _isn't_ going. Part of her wants to continue talking to Anna, but the other part keeps reminding her that she hates to lose.

After fifteen minutes of working, Elsa is finally getting back into her concentrated zone when she hears a loud _THUD! _

She looks up from her work to find Anna climbing off the floor, clutching her head, a small trickle of blood making it's way down her forehead. Elsa's eyes widen. "What the hell happened?" she exclaims.

Anna shrugs. "I tried to jump and do the pose that the lady is doing in that painting, but I fell."

"Shit," Elsa breathes, "Are you okay?"

Anna shrugs again, her eyes starting to water. "I hit my head on that thing, I think."

Elsa quickly leaves the table and runs to Anna's side, guiding her to the sofa. "Hey, you sit down and I'll go upstairs to get the first aid kit."

"No," Anna whispers. "Stay down here. There's a storm. I'll be fine."

Elsa lets out an exasperated breath. "Calm down. I'll be quick."

She then glides from the sofa to the basement stairs and heads up toward the main level. When she makes it to the top she laughs to herself, considering she's willing to leave a perfect stranger alone in her house.

_But she's cute_, her mind interrupts, and she laughs again. This isn't the time where she needs to stop thinking with her head.

She makes her way to the downstairs bathroom, but the first aid kit isn't there. She can't find it in the kitchen, either. After five minutes of searching she pauses to try and figure out where it could be.

_Where would I put it? I thought it was in the bathroom. _Her eyes widen. "Ohhh," she whispers, "-upstairs bathroom. Get it together, Els."

Elsa climbs the stairs and turns right, heading toward the upstairs bathroom. When she makes it there she enters and opens the closet- the first aid kit right in front of her.

She smiles to herself as she reaches forward, but there is a loud _clack _of thunder, followed by every light in the house shutting off. _Shit, this is just great._

Elsa continues to reach forward, feeling around for the kit. Her hand finally lands on it, and she pulls it to herself, turning to make her way through the house without sight.

She feels her way toward the steps before descending carefully and slowly. She prepares to turn toward the basement, but decides it's probably best to grab a flashlight, so she makes her way toward the kitchen instead.

She places the first aid kit on the kitchen counter as she prepares to do the extensive search of blindly looking through drawers for a flashlight but, luckily for her, she finds it on her first try.

She then grabs the first aid kit and begins to feel her way through the house again. Half way through the living area she realizes that she just got a flashlight from the kitchen.

Elsa laughs to herself, again, as she reaches to turn on the flash light- but she feels a hand grab on to her arm.

"_Shit!_" she yells pushing the offending body off of her with as much strength as possible.

The intruder hits the floor and Elsa prepares to run, but a small voice speaks up. "Hey, E-Elsa, it's me... Anna."

Elsa stops, her heart pounding, and turns on the flashlight. She then flashes it down at the woman on the floor. "What the hell are you doing up here? I told you to stay on that sofa."

"You were taking a really long time," Anna says, softly, visibly afraid, "-th-then the lights went out and I thought maybe you got hurt, so I came to g-get-" Her voice catches and she sounds as if she's going to cry.

Elsa's heart sinks a little, realizing that this day probably isn't going that well for Anna. The strawberry-blonde hadn't sold anything, and then she got stuck in a stranger's house -who had just shoved her to the floor- during a storm.

Elsa points the flashlight away from Anna's face and extends a hand. "Here, let me help you up. I thought you were an intruder. I'm sorry I pushed you."

Anna takes Elsa's hand and lifts herself from the floor. "It's okay," she whispers, "-I'd be on edge too if there was some random stranger in my house… I'm pretty harmless, though, honestly," she finishes, straightening her clothes.

Elsa smiles, grabbing on to the shorter woman's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Come on," she urges, "lets get back downstairs so we can get you fixed up."


	3. The Second Hour

"Hold the flashlight still, Anna. I'm trying to see."

Anna steadies the flashlight, but cringes again as Elsa goes over the cut on her forehead with another alcohol swab. "I'm sorry, but that really stings."

Elsa lets out a small laugh as she prepares to wipe the area again. "Aww, poor baby," she teases. "Would you like to hold my hand?"

Anna's head drops slightly, but she remains silent. The smile leaves Elsa's face and she clears her throat. "Uhm, I'm just going to go over the area one more-"

"Look," Anna interrupts, her voice firm, "-I know that once this storm is over I'm going to leave and you're going to forget I exist… and maybe my job seems like a scam and it amuses you. Maybe you think less of me because I went to a shit college, and maybe you think I'm stupid because I fell and hit my head. I get it. I really get it, but for the time being we're sort of stuck together... unless you want to kick me out. You reserve that right."

"I'm not going to kick you out," Elsa whispers. "Hey, I'm-"

"Okay," Anna interrupts again. She swallows and pauses briefly. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'd appreciate it if you don't pretend like I'm invisible and if you don't make fun of me. I've had enough of that in my life. I _have _enough of that in my life. So… just for the next however many hours could you just…" She trails off and takes in a deep breath.

Elsa opens her mouth slightly, unsure of what to say. She then closes it and swallows, before trying again. "I'm glad you stopped at my door," she says, quickly. She reaches forward, placing a bandaid over the cut on Anna's forehead. "I just… maybe we don't have to forget about each other when the storm is over. I wouldn't mind getting coffee with you… and I _will _buy makeup from you… I mean I've been looking for some quality purple eye shadow," she laughs.

Anna looks up to Elsa with a smile. "Does this mean my second attempt succeeded?"

The smile once again fades from Elsa's face and she slants her eyes at Anna. "You did not just tell me that sad ass story to sell me makeup."

"You didn't actually believe people could pretend I was invisible," Anna giggles. "Honestly, you put up the best effort I've ever seen, today. So, kudos for that."

"If I had on my lawyer hat I would've seen right through your statement. I've ripped apart stronger women than you on the stand."

"It sounds like you have anger issues. Maybe you should see a therapist."

Elsa rolls her eyes. "Maybe we shouldn't go on that coffee date."

"Date?" Anna smirks.

Elsa pauses and her eyes widen. She hadn't meant to say _date_. Well, that's what she wants it to be, but she wasn't quite ready to drop that bomb just yet. She finds Anna undeniably cute, but she has no idea how the woman feels about her… and even less of an idea of how to assess that.

"I didn't mean to say date," she states, finally. "That just sort of slipped out."

Anna places a hand over her chest, recoiling in mock shock. "I _trusted _you, Elsa. I held your hand upstairs. I came into your… oh my God, you got me into your house. This whole thing was just a ploy to-"

Elsa presses her lips against Anna's and closes her eyes.

Anna's lips are soft, warm, and welcoming… or at least they seem welcoming. Elsa isn't quite sure. In fact, she's starting to think that this was a mistake. _Definitely not the right way to assess if she likes me._

Elsa quickly pulls back, clearing her throat. "I'm so sorry, Anna. I don't know-"

"No," Anna interrupts, shaking her head. She appears to be just as shocked as Elsa feels. "I'm good. That was… good. It's okay."

Elsa releases a breath, relieved. The last thing she wants is for Anna to think she's creepy. She's just not very good at this whole… _flirting _thing.

"Good. Okay." She smiles, tentatively, rubbing her sweaty palms on her pants. "When you say good," she starts, looking up at Anna, "-like you mean it's okay, you forgive me for doing that, but don't do it again…. or do you mean good like you want to do it again?"

Anna opens her mouth as if she is going to say something, but no words come out. Elsa reaches up and scratches behind her ear after a few seconds of silence. "Okay… okay," She nods. "That was a weird question. Pretend I didn't ask. Lets just talk about something else, please?"

Elsa looks to Anna hopefully, and thankfully the freckled woman starts to nod. "We can uhm… we can talk about s-something else," Anna stutters. "You sure you can't tell me about your case?"

"I can, actually," Elsa quickly responds, eagerly wanting the subject to change, no matter what they have to talk about instead. "You've probably read about it. I try to keep my name out of papers… but it's the Hans case."

"Oh," Anna breathes. "That should be a cakewalk for you, he's totally guilty."

"I hope not," Elsa shrugs. "I'm defending him."

"You're kidding. He killed his wife's sister."

"His _dead _wife's sister, whom he thought had a part in killing his wife," Elsa corrects. "I mean, off the record, not legally speaking, he went through a lot growing up… and then the love of his life was ripped away from him-"

"_Bullshit_," Anna interrupts. "I've seen him in interviews. He totally didn't care about the wife. He probably had a part in her death, too."

"We probably shouldn't be talking about this," Elsa states, quietly. The truth is, she had been having a hard time convincing _herself _of his innocence, so she didn't have enough fight in her to convince Anna.

"I didn't mean to be harsh," Anna apologizes. "I wish you luck in your career and everything, but something about that guy gives me the creeps, and I don't want him out on the street, you know?"

Elsa nods. "I understand."

"I have a question," Anna chimes. "It's not particularly about this case, so you can answer it… How does it feel when you're representing someone and you _know _they're guilty? Like, you know they should be put away."

Elsa shakes her head. "There's just a disconnect, you know? It becomes about the job… about the money… about winning the case. The law isn't about the truth, its about what you can prove in court. Guess that makes me a bad person."

"Yeah," Anna laughs. "You do seem like a pretty bad person right now… but I guess I don't really know you. Maybe we should get coffee some time to rectify that."

There is another round of thunder, followed by the sound of glass breaking upstairs in the house. The two women sit in silence for a moment.

"That is," Anna whispers, breaking the silence, "-if we manage to make it out of this storm. I'm really afraid of thunder storms, actually."

"Is that another one of your lies?"

"I'm not the lawyer, here," Anna retorts. Elsa looks down and the strawberry-blonde takes in a deep breath.

"I feel like we're stepping on each other's toes," Anna starts. "Mostly me, on yours. How about we rewind to when you asked me if I wanted to kiss you again?" She pauses. "I'd really like to."

Elsa shakes her head. "I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't."

"Did I do something wrong?"

Elsa shrugs. "I'm not sure. I mean, I just met you," she whispers.

Anna lets out a breath. "That's very true, but we're both adults, so-"

"So we can engage in the very same exact questionable behavior that we warn kids not to?"

"That is _exactly _what I was going to say," Anna laughs. "I think you have really pretty eyes, and a warm heart… You pretend that it's just about the money, or winning the case, but after years of doing this you still actually care."

Elsa rolls her eyes. "Alright, Dr. Phil. What makes you think that?"

"Because I can read your aura," Anna states, matter-of-factly. "It's blue… which is nurturing and stuff."

"Thank you," Elsa smiles. "You're full of shit, but thank you."

Anna runs a hand through her hair. "What if we're soulmates? Like, I knocked on your door before a storm and you let me in, then-"

"I impulsively kissed you, _once_. Don't get ahead of yourself."

Anna frowns and starts to bat her eyes, faking as if the statement really hurt her. "So… so it was just a kiss to you?"

"Stop it," Elsa laughs. "And turn off the flashlight. Conserve the batteries in case we really need it."

Anna turns off the flashlight and sets it down beside her. "It's dark," she whispers, after a moment.

"Is it really, Captain Obvious?"

"Yeah," Anna says, ignoring Elsa's joke. "I was going to kiss you but now I don't know where your lips are."

Elsa takes in a breath. She wants to kiss Anna again, but she still isn't sure if this is a good thing to do.

After a moment of thought she gives in to her inner desires, and leans forward, pressing a kiss to Anna's lips. "My lips are right here," she smiles.

Anna lets out a small laugh. "Wow, can you see in the dark or something? Are you half cat?"

"You're a nerd," Elsa sighs.

"That hasn't been a good insult since second grade."

Elsa leans back and rolls her eyes. "You know," she starts, "-your second attempt also failed."

Anna giggles as she leans close to Elsa's face, her lips slightly brushing against the platinum blonde's ear. "Well, in that case, I only kiss girls who own purple eye shadow."


	4. Halfway Through the Second Hour

"Do you believe in God?"

Elsa clears her throat and looks to Anna, confused, even though the younger girl probably isn't able to see her expression. "Yes, I do."

"Why?"

Elsa shrugs. "Why does anyone believe in God?"

"I'm not sure," Anna whispers. "That's why I'm asking you. Are you afraid of what's going to happen to you after you die?"

"Sure," Elsa hastily replies. She rolls her eyes, annoyed by the fact that she's actually amused by Anna's questioning. Normally this would be the type of thing that made her want to claw off her ears, but she couldn't help but find the strawberry-blonde's curiosity... well, cute.

Anna pauses for a moment. "What if I'm just a figment of your imagination, like I don't actually exist?"

"I guess that would make sense," Elsa says, finally letting herself go along with Anna's musing. If they have to spend more time together, she might as well play nice. "I mean I _am _sitting in my basement, in the dark, talking to you. Except… we kissed so that part doesn't really make sense."

"What if that didn't really happen? I mean the only real way for us to ever find out is if we kiss again."

"You don't get a fourth attempt," Elsa sighs.

"This isn't my fourth attempt," Anna laughs. "I'm adding on to my third. It still hasn't failed."

"It did fail, because it was like… an illegal maneuver or something."

Anna takes in a deep breath, shaking her head. "How was that illegal. You clearly set the rules as me having to sell you the makeup in three attempts or less and that was it."

Elsa lets out a frustrated moan. "Fine, but it was sort of like an unspoken rule."

"Do unspoken rules hold up in court?" Elsa rolls her eyes, angrily. She's glad that the freckled woman probably didn't see. "Look," Anna continues, "-you don't have to buy the makeup for real. I understand if you don't want to. I just want you to admit that I sold it, convincingly."

Elsa draws in a breath. Anna_ did_ sell it. She wants nothing more than to buy that purple eye shadow and take away the only thing stopping her from kissing the strawberry-blonde… but on the other hand, she hates to lose, especially to someone as smug as Anna.

"You've gotta be kidding me. That is not how you're going to get me to buy your make up," Elsa huffs, folding her arms across her chest.

"Why not?" Anna asks, "-It's a totally legitimate tactic."

"It's cheating. I was doing this to help you learn something, not for you to exploit the fact that I find you attractive."

"I did learn something. I learned a lot, thanks to you." Anna remains silent for a long while, as though she wants to test the impact of her words.

Elsa blinks rapidly, shifting on the couch. "What'd you learn, then?"

"Well from the first attempt I learned that only trying to sell why the product is great would never work. From my second attempt I learned that giving you all the power -saying I needed you and pulling the emotional card- doesn't work."

Elsa takes in a breath. "And what did that third attempt teach you?"

Anna scoots closer to Elsa on the couch. "It taught me that what I really have to sell is why _you_ need the item. That is the only real way to get people to buy things… make them believe that they _need_ it."

"I guess," Elsa whispers, "-you did learn something."

"Yeah. So you win. You taught me a very valuable lesson. Just admit that I succeeded."

"Fine, you succeeded."

"Great," Anna chirps. "See? How hard was that?"

"Very."

Anna leans her head on Elsa's shoulder. "Well, I apologize in advance if I'm… not worth the trouble." She pauses for a moment, but Elsa doesn't say anything. "It's uhm, it's kind of cold down here," Anna whispers. "I wish I'd worn a shirt with sleeves."

Elsa's body straightens, as if she's suddenly coming back to life. "I'll run upstairs and get you a sweater."

"Seriously? Do you hear this freaking apocalypse happening around us?"

"I'll be fast."

"The first rule of survival is don't be a hero, Elsa. Don't be a freaking hero."

Elsa lets out a giggle, covering her mouth with her hand. "No, Anna. Rule number one is cardio. Rule number seventeen _was_ don't be a hero, but it was later crossed off to 'be a hero.' So I think I'll go get you that sweater."

There is a silence between them, before both women burst into laughter. "Wow," Anna breathes, "I don't know if it's really attractive, or really weird that you know that."

"Probably a little bit of both."

"Okay," Anna nods. "There's a lot more to you than I thought. So, you like zombie movies?"

"I'm a bit of a connoisseur," Elsa replies, smiling.

"Okay," Anna says, leaning away from Elsa. She presses a button on her watch and it lights up. "We're going to go upstairs and get that sweater, because I'm fucking cold. But the thing is, we need to do it in two minutes or less, or the zombies will get us."

"What? What zombies?"

"Use your damn imagination," Anna sighs. "You need to make a mental map of everything in your house, and make sure to note exactly where the sweaters are. We're going to bolt out of here, get the sweaters, and get back."

"Oh my God," Elsa groans. "I don't want to do this. I'm just going to go get the sweater."

"No," Anna pleads, standing from the couch. "This is both fun _and _efficient. We don't need to be up there that long because there is an actual storm happening and we need to be down here."

"Fine."

"Good. Stand up."

"Wait," Elsa says, standing from the couch. "I have to get this down in my head."

"Hurry up."

"Shhh," Elsa whispers. "Okay, okay. I got it. Does the timer start at the top of the basement stairs, or the bottom?"

Anna pauses, thinking it over. "I say it starts at the bottom, and ends when we reach the bottom again."

"That's not enough time."

"Make it enough."

Elsa sighs, but doesn't put up any more words of protest. Anna grabs the flashlight and the two women then walk to the bottom of the basement stairs.

Anna teeters on her heels with excitement. "Okay, I'm gonna count us down. Wait." She turns on the flashlight. "Alright. Three. Two. On-"

Elsa grabs Anna's hand and starts to sprint up the stairs. "Keep up, Anna and keep the flashlight shining in front of me. We're gonna make this."

They make it up the stairs and Elsa leads Anna through the living area, shooting up the second set of stairs to the second floor of the house. They then enter the master bedroom, where Elsa leads Anna toward a dresser in the closet.

"How much time did that take?" Elsa breathes, flushed.

"Th-thirty seconds," Anna stutters.

"Okay," Elsa whispers. "I guess I have a little under sixty to find the sweater."

Elsa opens a drawer and starts to dig, but there are nothing but t-shirts inside. Anna starts to jump in place with anticipation. "Oh my God, Elsa! I thought you mapped this out. What are you doing? The zombies are coming!"

Elsa runs a hand through her hair. "Shit I moved them to the top drawer, I think. Stop jumping and focus the light."

"Hurry, Elsa. _Zombies_!"

"Shutup! This is a lot of pressure." Elsa opens the top drawer and begins to throw items out until she gets her hands on a sweater. "Got it!"

"Thirty-five seconds left. Lets go!"

"Wait, I should pick this up," Elsa says, out of breath.

Anna starts to protest, but a loud crack of thunder -the loudest one of the night- shakes the entire house.

Anna grabs Elsa's shirt and begins to drag her from the closet, her hand slightly shaking. "We need to fucking go! That _had_ to have hit something nearby. Forget the zombies, the storm is coming!"

Elsa's breathing picks up and she sprints after Anna out of the room and down the stairs. They make it through the living area and to the top of the basement stairs, both women jumping down nearly half of them.

Anna slaps the stop button on her watch and Elsa bends over, clutching her thighs, out of breath. "What's… what's the time?"

"One second to spare," Anna breathes.

Elsa lets out a breathy laugh as she straightens and hobbles toward the strawberry-blonde. "Holy shit, we're good. High five!"

Elsa lifts a hand, but Anna ducks under it, pressing their lips together instead.

This kiss feels a lot like the first kiss, only Elsa knows for sure this time that Anna wants it. She expects the shorter woman to swiftly pull away, but instead she feels Anna's tongue start to slowly slide across her lips, before teeth gently bite down on the lower one.

_Oh shit_, Elsa thinks, as she opens her mouth slightly. _This is better than I expected._


	5. Some Time Right Before the Third Hour

Elsa lets the sweater in her hand drop to the floor as she brings her arms up and around Anna's waist, pulling the shorter woman in to her.

Anna lets the flashlight topple from her hand, bringing one up to rest on Elsa's bicep and the other slipping it's fingers into her platinum blonde hair. Her mouth is even better than Elsa had imagined, although she's quite bashful about the fact that she had even imagined such a thing.

It's hot and soft and avid, and it meets Elsa's with equal fervor, as if a switch has been flipped in each of them from stop to go.

Elsa tightens her arms around Anna's waist prompting her to press in even closer, and the younger woman does so without hesitation.

This is a moment that Elsa doesn't really want to end, and she doesn't know how she could possibly be this attracted to someone that she just met. She can smell the amazing scent of ripe peaches that clings to Anna's skin and she can feel the hard, steady gallop of the freckled woman's heart matching the pace of her own.

Then Anna pulls back, looking into Elsa's eyes, holding there for a moment before pulling away.

"You got skills," she states.

"Ditto."

Anna laughs and crouches to the floor. "Thanks. I hope that was worth the _torture _you had to endure… and will have to continue to endure until this storm lets up. Sorry, I'm just a chatty person. You get used to it." Anna finds the flashlight and flips it back on.

"I've gotten used to it," Elsa whispers. That was supposed to be a thought, but the words had decided to come out of her mouth instead. She mentally scolds herself for the unwanted slip.

Anna grabs the sweater off the floor and stands back up. She flashes the light on Elsa's face. "I'm _just _coming to terms with the fact that you want in my pants, so don't tell me that you're also trying to get in my heart."

"I don't want in your pants, Anna. That was a really nice kiss-"

"Yeah," Anna interrupts, "-and that's all it was. If you want to get in my pants you'll have to try a little hard than that… But I'll be nice," she smiles. "You get three attempts to really convince me that it's something I want."

Elsa's eyes widen at Anna's blatant offer. "What?" she breathes. "I don't want to play this game. I'm not even sure if it's something _I _want, let alone-"

Anna starts to laugh, halting Elsa. "Oh, please, Els. It's definitely something you want. You have your three attempts. You can use them… or you can not use them. It's up to you."

"I don't… I don't even know your favorite color."

"It's green."

Elsa pauses and nods her head. "Fine. I don't even know your last name."

"Phillips."

Elsa releases a frustrated moan, running a hand through her frazzled hair. "If you want this so much, then why are you even doing this?"

Anna walks forward and places a kiss on Elsa's nose. "I really like watching you squirm. It's sort of cute. Actually, it's _extremely_ cute. And, to be honest, I'm a little unsure of this myself… but my head keeps spouting out this nonsense, trying to convince me that I want to do this with someone I just met… and it really seems to think that this is a good idea, but I don't have a real way of validating that. So, you convince me."

"I'll think about, I guess. But in the mean time, maybe we should figure out what we're going to do if this storm continues to get worse."

Anna turns off the flashlight and wedges it between her thighs. She then begins to pull the sweater over her head. "We're going to stay down here in this basement, that's what we're going to do."

"Got it all figured out, huh?"

"You bet."

They both start to walk toward the couch, feeling their way around it and taking a seat. "You know what I love about storms?" Elsa asks.

"What's that?"

"Everything."

Anna leans over on the older woman, resting her head on her shoulder. She is silent for just a moment, but holding true to her nature, she starts to speak again. "What else do you love, Elsa?"

"Hmmm," Elsa considers, tapping her fingers on her thigh. "I love being a lawyer." She thinks for another moment before speaking again. "I love fighting cases and getting _real_ justice, reading books on my porch on hot summer nights, and tiny little puppies. You?"

"I can go along with most of that," Anna starts, "-but I've never fought a case, and I'd have to substitute reading books, with eating sandwiches on hot summer nights… and I'd substitute puppies with big, old dogs." She lifts her head, grinning in Elsa's direction. "I sort of pegged you for a cat person."

Elsa shrugs. "I don't have anything against cats, but a big, old dog will always need his human."

"Like to be needed, do you?"

"I guess I do," Elsa whispers.

"There you go being all romantic. Is this the first attempt that I'm witnessing, or are you really just opening up to me?"

Elsa sucks in a deep breath and releases it with a sigh. "I'm not attempting to do anything, Anna. I won't persuade you to do something that you're not even sure that you want to do."

"Well," Anna starts, "-I'm fairly certain. I'm just not really one hundred percent."

"Wording it differently won't change anything."

Anna smiles and leans her head back down on Elsa's shoulder. "Why do you have to be such a hard ass? I'm just trying to have a little fun, and you keep clamming up unexpectedly."

"We're not all like you, Anna."

"Thankfully," Anna chirps, "-because the world needs people like you, too."

Elsa pulls from under Anna's head, inching away. "I wasn't fishing for compliments, and don't think you were doing me any favors by kissing me."

"I wasn't. I really wanted to kiss you, and I saw a great opportunity, so I took it. It wasn't about doing you a favor. It was more about doing _myself_ a favor."

Elsa doesn't respond, and for the first time, Anna stops speaking and they sit in silence. The problem for Elsa is that she isn't sure of whether or not Anna is joking.

It _is_ pretty absurd to think about.

Doing something like that with a person that she just met doesn't really seem like a wise decision, yet she is actually considering it as if it's even in the realm of being logical.

She doesn't want to put herself out there. She doesn't want to go for it and have Anna shut her down, or worse, have Anna _not_ shut her down.

Elsa is already feeling a bit uneasy about the kiss, despite how much she enjoyed it, so she can't even begin to fathom how going that far would leave her mental state.

"You're over-thinking it," Anna whispers, after an extended period of silence. She lets out a breath. "I guess this is the moment where I say sorry, and tell you to forget that I ever mentioned anything. I want to go back to the way we used to be. Like an hour ago. That was a fun time."

Despite her efforts to remain impassive, Elsa giggles at the statement. "Why does one hour seem like such a long time ago?"

"Because our relationship has grown a great deal in that hour. You finally know my last name. I'm pretty sure that's marriage status. I mean at least now you know what your name would be changed to."

"If we got married, you'd be the one taking _my_ name, thank you."

Anna laughs and slinks back into the couch. "What are your priorities, Ms. Frost? You'll entertain the idea of marriage, but not sex?"

"That was a hypothetical situation," Elsa shrugs. "You might have been proposing that sex was an actual possibility."

"There was no _might _about it," Anna says, matter-of-factly. "That was a very real offer… I mean not that I go around doing this all the time, but I feel a connection with you and… I don't know, I was just saying that it's an option."

"I think we should go back to the time before I first kissed you."

"And why is that?"

"I'm not sure," Elsa sighs, "I just think that maybe I started us off by moving entirely to fast, and at some point we're just going to crash. Maybe we should slow down a bit… because I actually like you."

Anna turns on the flashlight and holds it under her chin, illuminating her face. "Whatever you say, Elsa," she says, with a goofy voice.

Elsa stares into Anna's eyes, getting lost for a moment.

That, she realizes, is Anna's first appeal to her. Her clear, warm teal eyes just hold so much life. They sparkle with challenge and humor, and the way that she is staring back at Elsa makes the moment feel sort of intimate.

Anna smiles and blushes -although Elsa isn't exactly sure if that last part actually happened- and she turns off the flashlight.

Elsa continues to stare in her direction, even though there is no longer any light.

There is also Anna's mouth and the way that it so naturally and so habitually forms a smirk. And the way that ever since that first kiss Elsa can't think about anything else, and how right now she just wants to lean forward and-

"What are you thinking about?" Anna asks, interrupting the platinum blondes thoughts.

Elsa clears her throat, fidgeting with the sleeves of her shirt for a moment before responding. "You."


End file.
